Dearham village is 2.5 miles from Maryport, Cumbria and where the earliest record of my paternal line is found. The parish registers dated back to the 1400’s once, but sadly, 1663/64 is the earliest surviving record. This, in itself, is incredible. The fact that I can directly trace eight generations back.
My interest, though, is to present the residents of this village using the parish registers as a starting point. I have established that there were 164 surnames between 1663 and 1700. The Winder surname, for our line, died out in Dearham by the late 19th century but is continued elsewhere.
In this register appears my 8 x great-grandfather, John Winder, buried the 29th of January, 1663/64. His will is dated the 27th of January 1663. His first granddaughter, Jane Archer, is baptised April 10th 1662/63. John must have known about her as she is mentioned in his will. He leaves her a small heifer.
I don’t know when Mary, John’s daughter, married John Archer but they only have the one child according to the registers. Due to several years missing in the parish registers between 1663 and 1700, I don’t know exactly when Mary died but John Archer married Nelly (probably Ellen) Cuthbertson on the 19th of June 1677 indicating that Mary had died.
John had four sons; Peter, John, Nicholas and William. All four are mentioned in his will along with Mary, his daughter. Peter is my 7 x great-grandfather and was living in Ireland. John leaves Peter’s two sons; John and Joseph ten pounds. Confirmation that Peter was living in Glenarm, Antrim in 1666 is his name in the hearth tax register for 1666 but not for 1669. Peter’s will confirms this when he writes “I, Peter Winder, late of Glenarm in Ireland, but now residing in Dearham in the County of Cumberland”, and it is dated 1668/69 or the twenty first year of the reign of King Charles the Second. Peter was a royalist.
This blog concerns the other three brothers; John, Nicholas and William and their sister Mary and their story in Dearham. I have already mentioned Mary and John Archer and their daughter Jane, who was living in Ireland around 1710 according to the will of William Winder’s wife Elinor, in which she mentions her niece, Jane Archer living in Ireland.
John Winder of Dovenby appears in the Dearham parish register: “Aprill ye 26th was John Winder of Dovinby buried” This is 1670/71. His will is dated the 23rd of April 1670.
He identifies as a Batchelor or Singleman. He gives £10 to his brother, Nicholas Winder of Dearham. He gives to Jane Archer, the only daughter of my brother-in-law, John Archer of Dearham, £10. This is proof that John and Mary Archer only had one child by 1670 and as Mary isn’t mentioned may indicate that she had already died although this is unknown.
He gives to John Winder, eldest son of his brother Peter Winder and the future Reverend John Winder, £15 and to Joseph, second son of Peter and later Captain Joseph Winder, £10. He then gives unto his Master Benson (probably Edward Benson, witness) £5 and twenty shillings to his wife, and twenty shillings to his son, William, and ten shillings to his wife, and five shillings to either of his sons.
He gives unto his uncle Edward’s children of Redmaine £1 10 shillings to be equally divided amongst them. He then gives unto Mary, the wife of John Whinfield of Clifton and to her four children, five shillings apiece. And to Ellinor, the wife of Henry Fisher of Papcastle and to her four children five shillings apiece.
He also gives to Edward and Henry two sons of my master to either of them twenty shillings and to Grace Towson and her three children five shillings apiece. He gives unto his cousin Mary Dodgson of Dearham the sum of five shillings. Lastly he gives unto his fellow servants Richard Osmatherley, John Martin and Ellinor Thomlinson six shillings, apiece appears to be crossed out.
His will gives a fascinating insight into the people he worked for and knew in the surrounding areas, not only Dearham. He also leaves an inventory of his belongings. His uncle Edward of Redmaine being the brother of his father, John Winder of Dearham. His will survives. Below, John Winder’s inventory. Mentions: His Apparrell £2; sheets and a bed-covering 13s 4d; Three chests and two pewter dishes 11s 6d; One Cow £1 10s and waine (wagon) wheels and coup and nailes £2. With debts owing to him he totals £143 19s 4d and he owed £45.
Moving on to Nicholas Winder, the brother who continued the Winder line in Dearham into the 19th century. Nicholas married Jane (Jana) Dodgeson on the 11th of November 1673/74 by Banns. They were married in St. Mungos church, Dearham. Their first son Peter was baptised November 12th 1676/77. John is baptised in 1679 and Frances in 1683. Mary and Jane are not recorded and could have been born during the missing years 1678/79, 1680/81, 1681/82, 1684/85 or even as late as 1692/93, at a stretch 1698/99. Jane is buried on the 30th April 1746 in Dearham. Ellinor, widow of William Winder, Nicholas’ brother mentions his five children in her will of 1715, indicating that they are all still living.
However, it is John Winder who marries Mary, surname unknown as yet and date of marriage and continues the line. They have six children: Jane, John, William, Mary, Peter and Ann in no particular order. William is baptised in 1710, Mary in 1719, Peter in 1722 and Ann in 1727. Jane Winder marries John Harrison. William Winder marries Frances Reed the 30th July 1745 and continues the line.
They have 3 sons: John, William and Peter of which John marries Mary Key the 5th September 1775. They have 7 children: Peter, Frances, William, Mary, Elizabeth, Jane and Margaret.
William marries Isabella Smith the 27th October 1801 and they have 7 daughters thus ending the male line of the Winders in Dearham. However, the female lines continue introducing surnames such as: Harrison, Tolson, Allison and later Carter and Robinson. These are all familiar surnames appearing throughout the parish registers in Dearham. Many of their children have Winder in their names such as John Winder Tolson and Winder Allison and Winder Carter, later also John Winder Carter, John Winder Robinson twice and Norman Winder Carter, thus continuing the Winder name right up to 1994! Further surnames appearing are Tunstall, Lister, Smith and, Wedgwood from Staffordshire.
Of Nicholas and Jane’s children only Mary and William married according to the records. Mary married George Rogerson Rhea the 18th June 1714, a summer wedding. This is the first entry of a Rhea recorded in the parish register so where did he come from?
Winder Family History 